Turkish Lira emerges as dominant fiat trading pair on Binance

UAE’s RAK DAO Partners with HBAR Foundation to Support Web3 StartupsRAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), the world’s first free zone dedicated to digital and virtual asset companies located within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced a collaboration with the HBAR Foundation which aims to provide growth and funding opportunities to members of the free zone.Leveraging blockchain technologyThe Cayman Islands-based HBAR Foundation, the project team behind the Hedera public ledger, will assist RAK DAO members in leveraging cutting-edge technologies, including blockchain, and building economies and applications on Hedera.In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the partners outlined the benefits of the collaboration, which include a grant program, financial backing processes, and specialized expert support in technology, marketing, and business development. They also aim to support the scaling of adoption and innovation of new ideas in the Web3 space.Photo by Mostafa Ashraf Mostafa on UnsplashRas Al Khaimah free zoneSheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Digital Assets Oasis, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating: “Together, we are unlocking a world of new possibilities, empowering entrepreneurs, and propelling innovation forward. This collaboration is a testament to our shared commitment to driving sustainable growth and shaping a future where Ras Al Khaimah emerges as a global leader in the digital economy.”Ras Al Khaimah is the largest city within the Emirate of the same name. It’s the sixth largest city in the UAE and home to the RAK DAO free zone.In March, Ras Al Khaimah enacted a law to establish RAK Digital Assets Oasis, demonstrating its commitment to diversification, attracting new businesses, and positioning itself as a global tech center. The free zone is exclusively focused on digital and virtual asset companies operating in various sectors such as the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, non-fungible tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized applications, and other Web3-related businesses.Various initiativesAs part of the collaboration, RAK Digital Assets Oasis and HBAR Foundation will undertake several initiatives, including start-up and scale-up pitching sessions, opportunities for partners and investors to connect, and exploration of joint projects such as venture studios or accelerators. Grantees of the HBAR Foundation will also benefit from discounted set-up and licensing packages to establish their presence within RAK Digital Assets Oasis.Shayne Higdon, CEO of HBAR Foundation, acknowledged the UAE’s reputation as a dynamic hub for Web3 innovation and its ability to attract global enterprises and top-tier talent. Higdon stated: “Through this exclusive relationship we are honored to provide grantees with greater access to the UAE while working together to establish RAK Digital Assets Oasis as a major hub for the Web3 and digital assets sector.”The UAE has been actively investing in its infrastructure and implementing policy reforms to attract more entrepreneurs and businesses, aiming to grow its non-oil sector. The country’s digital economy is projected to surpass $140 billion by 2031, up from nearly $38 billion at present, according to a report by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy in February.

Philippines Regulator Collaborates with US Counterpart to Tackle Crypto FraudThe Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a step towards addressing the escalating issue of crypto scams, seeking assistance from its namesake and international counterpart, the US SEC.The international partnership was announced via a Philippines SEC press release, published last Friday. The collaboration highlights the severity of a growing problem in terms of crypto-related fraud, underscoring the importance of inter-agency cooperation in tackling the issue.Photo by Krisia on PexelsJoint training effortsBoth SECs will engage in joint training sessions. The collaboration also involves cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and it has been established under the umbrella of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Notably, the Philippines SEC has also signed IOSCO’s Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at addressing crypto scams.The motivation behind these collaborative efforts is readily apparent given the scale of the cryptocurrency fraud that has occurred recently in the Philippines. Recent instances have captured the attention of the authorities, emphasizing the urgent need for regulatory action.Drawing on overseas enforcement experienceMost in the crypto sector are not enamored with US SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s stance relative to digital assets. Notwithstanding that, it may be that his assertive approach to enforcement may have a place in the Philippine context, given the extent of the issue of crypto fraud in the Southeast Asian country. For example, Gensler’s call for “more cops on the beat” to police the crypto industry, expressed in a Bloomberg Daybreak Podcast interview in July, resonates with the Philippines’ current predicament.Though Gensler’s remarks have been met with resistance from some quarters within the crypto industry, they may serve as sage advice in a climate where crypto-related crimes proliferate.Philippines SEC Chair Emilio Aquino outlined that the collaborative workshop involving the two securities commissions was aimed towards strengthening the capability of the Philippines’ SEC enforcement personnel in conducting investigations on securities-related crimes like insider trading, market manipulation, off-market fraud, and crypto scams.Aquino stated: “Scammers are becoming more advanced and sophisticated in their techniques as new technologies arise. As such, the SEC must constantly improve its investigation and enforcement capabilities to ensure that we are always one step ahead in preventing scams.”The Philippines, in particular, could benefit from a more robust regulatory presence to combat human trafficking networks and quash scams that tarnish the reputation of the crypto sector. These criminal activities have unfortunately led many to associate cryptocurrencies with fraud.The Philippines SEC Chair added that collaboration with US regulators and other enforcement agencies would likely guide the country in its pursuit of initiatives that lead towards the protection of the investing public.While expert training is essential, bolstering regulatory oversight, as suggested by Gensler, may be the key to mitigating the pervasive problem of crypto-related crime and protecting the integrity of the cryptocurrency sector.

Aave v3 Launches on Metis Scaling NetworkMetisDAO confirmed on Tuesday that leading decentralized liquidity protocol Aave has been deployed on the layer 2 Ethereum-centric scaling platform.Photo by Joshua Sortino on UnsplashGiven the distributed nature of the teams behind decentralized networks and projects, it can be difficult at times to determine where project teams are based, albeit in the case of MetisDAO, according to LinkedIn, its primary location is Singapore despite having a Canadian Co-Founder and CEO.Aave’s move to ZK networksThe move comes following a vote taken by Aave’s user community, who voted in favor last month of a proposal to deploy the liquidity protocol on zero knowledge-based networks. In a social media post, the Metis team referred to the decentralized lending market going live on the network as “a new era of Decentralized Finance.”The development is significant for Metis, given that Aave is the third largest project in crypto based on the total value locked (TVL) metric. Within DeFi lending, it’s the biggest project in the sector, holding a TVL of $5.4 billion.One of the keys of Aave’s dominance is its multi-chain strategy. Metis marks the eighth network upon which it has been deployed. The others include Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Fantom, Harmony and Avalanche.Metis technical roadmapWhile there’s a lot of uncertainty as to how various crypto projects will pan out over the longer run, most agree that Ethereum is here to stay. Metis stands a good chance of contributing to that ecosystem over the long term as layer two scaling networks are likely to be part and parcel of the Ethereum environment for some time to come.Last month, the project set out a technical roadmap, detailing what the project has in store, while claiming that in general, 2023 would be a great year for Ethereum. Metis is a layer two network based on Optimistic Rollup architecture. It has grown into the third largest scaling network relative to Ethereum.The project plans to roll out Bedrock, a technical upgrade that will enable improved network security. Furthermore, it plans on bringing about consensus and execution separation. Also in its sights are faster deposit times, which the project claims, will enable better UX.Many DeFi networks are under scrutiny in terms of the centralized elements that they incorporate. Metis plans to make improvements in this regard, with the intention of decentralizing the sequencer pool. The project claims that “Metis Andromeda will be decentralized to the core.”Hybrid rollupsDemonstrating further ambition, Metis is aspiring to bring about hybrid rollups, combining the features of optimistic rollup architecture with zero-knowledge proofs. In a tweet, Head of Marketing and MetisDAO Co-Founder Kevin Li said that “by combining the best traits from both schemes, hybrid rollups will offer the unmatched scalability and EVM-equivalence of optimistic rollups, together with the censorship resistance and fast finality enabled by zero-knowledge proofs. The best of both worlds.”MetisDAO believes it adds value for users of its network through Aave’s offering, enabling them to borrow assets with less collateral via Aave’s High-Efficiency mode. Furthermore, the deployment makes for improved risk management through supply and borrow caps, and siloed borrowing, reducing the risk in the event of market contagion.